In his book, Prince Harry revealed former drug use, which could be a reason to revoke his American visa. To find out whether Harry had disclosed this information, a conservative think-tank went to court. On 15 June, the court announced that Harry’s visa file will not be released and thus his visa will not be revoked.

Visa validity at risk due to incorrect information

Prince Harry and his family moved to the United States in 2020. Since he does not have an American passport, he needs a visa to live in the Unted States. The American visa rules are strict, and the application procedure consists of multiple steps that can take up quite some time. That is because applicants need to provide a lot of information, which will then also be checked for veracity. If after the visa’s issuance, some information is found to be incorrect, this could have severe repercussions for his visa’s validity. This also applies in cases similar to Prince Harry's.

Revelations put the American visa at risk

In the book he published early this year, Spare, Prince Harry talks a great deal about his private life, including his use of drugs. These unveilings could have had major consequences for the validity of his visa, since drug use can be a reason not to grant a visa. If the concerned applicant has been dishonest about drug use during the application procedure, the granted visa can still be revoked. This question in Prince Harry’s case was also whether he had been transparent about his drug use in his visa application procedure.

Visa files not open to the public

Therefore, the question was whether Prince Harry held back information during his visa application procedure. If he did, his visa could be revoked. Because of this, the Heritage Foundation wishes to look into his visa file to find out if Harry disclosed this information when he applied for his visa. This conservative think-tank believes that it is of great public interest to know if Harry received any form of special treatment, and if he was honest.

However, visa files are private and therefore cannot be looked into by just anyone. The Heritage Foundation filed multiple requests under the Freedom of Information Act, each one having been rejected. Following this, the think-tank took their request to court, where on 15 June it was ruled that Prince Harry’s immigration file should remain confidential, and not be made public. The Department of Homeland Security ruled that it was not of public importance to publish the file of an individual visa holder, despite Harry’s celebrity status. This means that his visa’s validity is currently not at risk.

Visas for the USA are hard to get

There are dozens of different visas for the United States, each for a different travel purpose. The application procedures for a physical visa are strict and the waiting times are long. This is because they require a lot of information to be provided and several documents to be submitted. Moreover, before a decision can be made regarding the approval or rejection of the visa, an interview at the embassy or consulate is mandatory. A consular employee will then decide if the file is complete and if the applicant meets all the visa requirements. During this process, the applicant is also asked about any previous or current use of drugs. Based on the provided information and the traveller’s motives, a travel permit for the United States will either be granted or not.